Structure and deformaton behaviour of Armco iron subjected to severe plastic deformation

Structural evolutions in an Armco iron subjected to severe plastic deformation by torsion under high pressure are anlysed with conventional and high resolution electron microscopes. The substructure observed at low strains appears to shrink with increasing deformation and transforms at very high strains into grain boundaries. The resulting grain size decreases down to a constant submicrometric value. Meanwhile, the material strength, as revealed by micro hardness measurements, levels out. Dislocation densities and internal stress levels are used to discuss the structural transformations. Hydrostatic pressure and deformation temperature are believed to modify the steady-state stress level and structural size by impeding the recovery processes involving diffusion.